Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I love when two of my favorite things come together and make magic - Pearl Jam and movies. It's like Christmas! I was a huge PJ fan growing up, so this is definitely exciting news. This is the trailer I'm sure fans are waiting for - Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam Twenty documentary. The film traces the 20 year history of Pearl Jam, packed with rare footage and new interviews. This brand new trailer comes straight from the official Pearl Jam Vimeo (via Vulture) and includes all kinds of stellar footage, like a wacky David Lynch interview, lots of old concerts, (lots of which I've actually been too), and much more. This looks fantastic!

Pearl Jam Twenty is directed byCameron Crowe(of Say Anything, Singles, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, Elizabethtown, We Bought a Zoo) chronicles the years leading up to the band's formation, the chaos that ensued soon after their rise to megastardom, their step back from center stage, and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them – giving way to a work culture that would sustain them. Told in big themes and bold colors with blistering sound, the film is carved from over 1,200 hours of rarely seen and never-before seen footage spanning the band's career. PBS will be airing this documentary as part of their American Masters series on October 21, 2011 for free on cable TV. For more info on the premierevisit pbs.org.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

I wasn't too thrilled at the idea of a Spiderman reboot, more importantly at the movie's title, but that all changed after I watched this trailer. This looks amazing! Sony Pictures just released their first trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, starring the likes of Andrew Garfieldas Peter Parker, our Spider-Man hero, as well as Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Rhys Ifans as Dr. Connors, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben Parker, Sally Field as Aunt May and Denis Leary as George Stacy. This definitely looks a lot better than I imagined and it definitely has me excited to see the movie now. Even though that sequence at the end looks like a video game, the trailer as a whole is just incredible. Let's hope the movie is too. Take a look!

The Amazing Spider-Man is directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer). Webb is directing this new reboot of Spider-Man from a screenplay co-written by Alvin Sargent(Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 & 3), Steve Kloves (Harry Potter movies) and James Vanderbilt (The Rundown, Zodiac, The Losers) in various iterations. Sony Pictures will be bringing this movie to theaters next summer - July 3rd, 2012.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

I had pretty high hopes for this movie. It had an amazing cast and the trailer was undeniably hilarious, but when it came down to it,Horrible Bosseswas just horribly mediocre at best. Jason Bateman, Charlie DayandJason Sudeikisare this film’s oppressed or otherwise abused workers. So after a few cocktails, the put-upon pals decide to murder their employers, using schemes both convoluted and unfunny.
Horrible Bosses is the latest and least entertaining in a line of R-rated comedies, including The Hangover 2, Bridesmaids and Bad Teacher. Most of the humor involves outrageously profane or sexually lewd language and behavior - heavy on the raunchy side rather than the witty. For a movie such as this, it’s imperative to have a good balance. A running joke involves the fact that Charlie Day’s character is a registered sex offender because he was once arrested drunkenly urinating in a playground in the middle of the night when no children were around.

The film lacked real depth and had little to no heart. It felt hollow and bleak. The lack of character development rendered an “I could care less what happens to these characters” attitude. But still, with a cast like this, it would be hard not to merit a few laughs, and as poorly paced as it was, it's still better than some. In conclusion, if there was nothing better on TV and you were stuck at home on a Saturday night, it would most definitely be worthy of your time.RATING: D+

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Being a fan of summer blockbusters, I was surprised at my lack of excitement when it came to Michael Bay’s latest installment – Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I contribute that lacking to the absence of Megan Fox-imous Prime. Whatever you want to say about Fox in the first two Transformers is fine, but she definitely put in an Oscar worthy performance compared toRosie Huntington-Whiteley. Where did Bay find this woman?! She gave the worst performance that I’ve seen all year. But let's be honest, she wasn't there to act. Am I right, or am I right... or am I right. Regardless, she is awful. There is absolutely no chemistry between her and her whiney-ass boyfriend, Shia LaBeouf, so when she inevitably becomes the “damsel in distress” in the end I couldn’t care less what happened to her. In fact there was little to no need for a love story in this movie at all. (Side Note: I will say I find it pretty amusing that the women in these pop-corn flicks possess that rare ability to maintain perfect hair and lip-gloss in the midst of robot Armageddon.)

Bay’s hugely successful Transformers’ series again delivers some of Hollywood’s finest action sequences to date. There is some major jaw-dropping chase scenes that will blow. your. mind. The film’s digital effects are flawless including a new burrowing, worm-like Decepticon called Shockwave, which scythes through buildings like a hot knife going through butter. It is visually stunning!As faras seeing this in 3D, I say saveyour money.Not worth it. If spectacular special effecrts are what you’re after, search no more. This is definitely your movie. Just forewarning, this movie does run a bit long, clocking in at 2 hrs 37 min. And remember the real magic isn't in the plot, but rather in the amazing special effects, battles scenes, cars, robots and hotties (sans Megan Fox (tear)). If plot is what you're after, what are you doing at a Michael Bay movie?RATING: CSpecial Effects: A+

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"I don't know what space exploration will uncover, but I don't think it'll be exploration just for the sake of exploration. I think it'll be more the fact that it allows us to see things. That maybe we should have seen a long time ago. But just haven't been able to until now."

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Some of the scenes were filmed at the Coachella Festival in 2017, where Lady Gaga was the first female headliner in ten years. Festival-goers paid ten dollars to see the scenes being filmed, although recording devices were locked away to prevent any footage being leaked.

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I feel film matters because we use it to tell stories about who we are as a society. They are a record of what makes us human and what concerns us in our everyday lives. Film has the power to transform emotions and it gives us opportunities to expand our horizons. It has the power to connect us to a whole new world outside our own. It's magical. Moreover, film is the most prevalent form of communication and entertainment in the postmodern world. Even while we are mindlessly absorbed in a favorite entertaining past time, we are subtly and unconsciously washed with layers of cultural values. Some films are fleeting entertainment while others are truly magnificent, dazzling, thought-provoking works of art.
Long Live Film!